SECOND ECHELON

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 August 1940, Page 7

SECOND ECHELON

INCIDENTS AT PORT OF CALL CAPE TOWN’S HOSPITALITY. SIZZLING HEAT AT FREETOWN. An interesting account of calls at Cape Town and Freetown by the Second .Echelon while en route to Britain is given by Second-Lieutenant H. V. Donald, son of Mr and Mrs V. E. Donald. of Masterton. in a letter just received b,y his parents. Referring to the visit to Cape Town he states: "There is a very strong fifth column, as they call it. in South Africa and many of them would have no scruples whatsoever about selling to Germany. However. General Smuts, a truly wonderful man. and the invasion of Holland have done a lot to alter this state of affairs, so that now the British element definitely has the upper hand. I went to a picture show in Cape Town one night and was very surprised at the enthusiasm the crowd showed whenever the .war or General Smuts was mentioned.’ They all got up and clapped and cheered very wholeheartedly. In my mind. General Smuts has undoubtedly saved the Union of South Africa and has kept it within the British Commonwealth. He is now a popular hero amongst, the British element

.... It was wonderful the hospitality that was shown to our fellows in Cape Town, considering that none except a few officials knew of our coming. They all put themselves out to give us a good time, putting cars at our disposal, inviting us into their homes, giving us dances, books, magazines and even in some cases cash. I found it very difficult indeed to spend any money, the people simply wouldn't let us. One of the first things that happened to Ken Crarer and myself was that we were picked up by an old Irishman named Timoney, who asked us what we wanted to do. I had arranged to go out to Boere Saamiverks but in the meantime we wanted some laundry done, so he took us to a Chinese laundry, arranged to get the whole lot done in one day, picked it up later and paid for it. In the meantime he took us to the Del Monico, a very picturesque restaurant, for a bottle of South African beer and a snack. We sat down at small tables I with a very fine orchestra playing I while old Timoney spun us a few yarns! in true Irish brogue concerning his life. It is something I will never forget, the whQlehearted sincerity of old Timoney . . . . and the whole atmosphere of taste and elegance. We said goodbye to Cape Town, taking with us some very happy memories. "Going into Freetown was a beautiful sight, with everything so green and

tropical-looking but of course it was terribly hot. The sun beat down on us mercilessly between tropical showers and you can imagine that we were all practically reduced to grease spots. A day or two before our arrival the humidity was 25 per cent and the local people could not dry their washing sufficiently to iron it. as there was so much moisture in the air. The worst part of the lot was going down to dinner at night when the ship was blacked out in a hot sticky temperature of 97 degrees. Quite a lot of the chaps were wet through at the end of the meal. The port at Freetown is particularly good, being at the mouth of a river and they tell us that thej' have a safe anchorage there seven miles long by two miles wide, which could take ships as big as the Queen Mary easily. Sierra Leone is quite an important possession particularly rich in minerals and also, I believe, in diamonds. Irvine Hart was one of the lucky ones who got ashore there to have lunch at the Garrison and he was telling me that the big diamond mines at Kimberley were contemplating shifting holus bolus to Sierra Leone, as it was far more accessible. He said also that the iron ore deposits were so rich that the machinery sent out from England had to be sent back and special material made to deal with such high-grade ore ....

Freetown has a population of 44,000, of which only 400 are whites. The climate is such that no Government officials stay there more than 18 months at the outside. The usual crowd of natives came out to sell baskets, fruit, silk, handkerchiefs (from Birmingham), snakes, eggs, monkeys and beer. They would not take New Zealand money, of course, and it wasn't long before they started a barter system .... Some of the native boys came out in small canoes and were diving overboard for pennies. It was remarkable the way they climbed back into their canoes without upsetting them.”